


The Inn

by ThoughOceansAway



Category: Little Mix (Band), One Direction (Band), Zayn Malik (Musician)
Genre: Americans, F/F, F/M, Homophobia, Homophobic Language, M/M, Non-Graphic Violence, off-screen sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-28
Updated: 2016-07-28
Packaged: 2018-07-27 06:16:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7606933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThoughOceansAway/pseuds/ThoughOceansAway
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The prompt<br/>An AU about the stonewall riots. Louis and Harry meet on the streets of the Greenwich village in New York City after being kicked out by their parents for liking boys. Louis had been kicked out a few years before Harry. A historical AU where they fall in love and frequent the stonewall Inn. They're at the Inn the night that the riots happened. Bottom Louis preferably. If you do this please try to make it historically accurate. (this story would be set in 1969/1970)<br/>Hope I did okay...</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Inn

**Author's Note:**

  * For [fondbfs](https://archiveofourown.org/users/fondbfs/gifts).



> Thanks to my beta Emma!  
> I'm so sorry that I had to use such horrible language.

Harry looks at his reflection in the mirror, getting the palms of his hands wet in the sink and smoothing his curls down over his forehead. He faces himself in the mirror and grimaces. _I’m gay,_ he admits to his reflection.

Mixed emotions swirl through his mind and heart. On the other hand, he feels excitement. He’s excited about maybe meeting a guy and getting immersed in the gay lifestyle.

He’s scared to be out on his own at only 17 years old. He is ashamed because being gay is illegal and his preferences could bring shame to his family. Most of all he misses his mom and Gemma. He doesn’t know when, or if, he’ll ever see them again. He even misses his dad although his dad wants nothing to do with him anymore.

Two days ago Des had walked into Harry’s room to find his associate, Dale, holding Harry against the wall, kissing his neck and with his hand on his crotch, while Harry stood there frozen wearing only a towel. Dale had been whispering filthy things in Harry’s ear while Harry whimpered. Harry fought it but couldn’t help but get hard because it was the first time a man had touched his dick.

Des absolutely freaked out. He struck Harry across the cheek and kicked him out of the house, all while yelling obscenities. Gemma and Anne had rushed into the room to see what the yelling was about. Des stormed out of the room going after Dale who just backed away saying, “Hey. He came onto me. I was just humoring the little faggot,” before rushing out of the house.

Anne followed Des around the house, begging him to see reason and not kick his only son out of the house.

Gemma packed Harry a bag during the fight and packed all of her cash and Harry’s stash of cash into the bag with his clothing and toiletries. Gemma goes to a women’s college and can’t take him with her but makes him promise to be in touch and she’ll try to figure something out to smooth things over so Harry can come home.

Anne grabbed him on his way out the door and handed him a huge wad of cash as well, apologized then shoved him out the door.

He had never been more scared and confused in all his life. In a short 30 minutes, his whole life and everything he knew was ripped from him.

Harry straightens his shoulders, grins at his reflection and decides to see his current circumstance as an adventure. He might as well try to have a good time while he was on his own.

Harry rushes out of his hotel room and walks quickly to the elevator before he can lose his nerve. He’s on his way to Greenwich Village where he heard there are plenty of gay men he can experiment with. Well, he can experiment with them if he actually works up the courage to do so.

He walks quickly out of the elevator into the lobby and promptly bumps into a man, knocking him to the floor. “Oh,” Harry exclaims, “I am _so_ sorry.” He reaches a hand down to help the other man up. “Let me help you up, man.”

The other man smirks up at him from his position on the floor and lays his hand in Harry’s, allowing him to help him up off the ground. He stands up and smiles at Harry. “It’s cool,” the man says as he takes a small step closer to Harry, not letting go of his hand. “Don’t sweat it,” he says, giving Harry a little wink.

Harry swallows hard and feels himself starting to sweat a little under the steady gaze of the stranger. “Are you, um-” he stutters, “Do you-”

The stranger snatches his hand back and exclaims, “No! No, I’m not gay if that’s what you’re asking.”

Harry’s face turns bright red, and he starts to back away, apologizing as he steps, scared that this man might punch his face in for even suggesting such a thing.

“Hey. Hey,” the man says, “It’s okay. I’m not going to judge you. I have two roommates and both of them are gay. I’m okay with it. My name’s Liam. What’s yours?”

“My name’s Harry,” he answers softly.

Liam looks at him closely and seems to make a decision. “Come with me. We’ll grab a bite to eat then I’ll take you to what will be your favorite place in the world. My roommates will be there and I’ll introduce you.”

As they eat a quick dinner in the diner on the corner Liam asks Harry why he’s in New York. Harry tells him the story of what happened at home and why he’s living in the hotel. Harry, curious about his new friend, asks him to share his story as well.

“I live here with my wife,” he begins. “We grew up together in the same town in North Carolina. People didn’t approve of us and they were threatening her so we ran away. As soon as it was legal to get married, we did.”

“What’s her name?” Harry asks. “Why didn’t people approve?”

“Her name is Leigh Anne and she’s the love of my life. People didn’t want us together because she’s black. You don’t have a problem with it do you?”

“Of course not,” Harry says.

“Good,” Liam replies. “I think maybe we can be friends. Do you want to go now? I promise you’ll love it.”

“ _The Stonewall Inn_ ,” Harry mutters. “What is this place, Liam?”

“Let’s go in and you’ll see,” Liam says with a smile.

The two walk up to a small window in the door and knock. Harry can hear popular music thumping from inside. It must be a nightclub. Liam greets the man in the window and hands him a wad of cash before the two are granted entry into the club.

Harry is shocked to see how crowded the place is. He wants to stop and look around but Liam pulls him across the bar and back into a smaller bar area. _Now_ Harry is definitely shocked. He sees cages with male ( _male!_ ) go-go dancers. Several male patrons dressed as girls and several girls dressed as boys. The part that sends shivers up Harry’s spine is seeing men dancing with other men and women dancing with other women. Some of them even kissing!

Harry just stands there with his mouth slightly open, staring at the people. Liam grabs his hand with a chuckle, pulling him along to stop at one of the cages.

Dancing in the cage is the most beautiful man Harry has ever laid eyes on. His caramel skin is contrasted nicely by the tiny gold shorts he’s wearing. “Z,” Liam says. “This is Harry. I found him at the Hotel Clarion earlier.”

“Well, take him over to Louis,” this Z replies. “I’m working.”

“Sorry about Zayn, Harry. He didn’t mean to be a drag. He worries about not losing his job. Times are tough,” Liam says as he pulls Harry through the dance floor and over to a table where a young guy sits.

Now this man is beautiful. Harry has never seen a more attractive guy in his life. Butterflies erupt in his belly when the man raises his striking blue eyes to look at him. He takes a moment to look Harry up and down before raising one eyebrow and asking Liam, “Well, who is this?”

Liam pulls Harry to stand in front of him. “This is Harry. We met at the hotel. He’s new in town and I figured he could use a friend or two.”

“Pleased to meet you, Harry. I’m Louis,” he says as he reaches out a dainty hand for Harry to shake. “So, finish your drink and we’ll dance.”

Harry gulps down his drink and sets the glass down on the table as Louis stands up and places his hand on the back of Harry’s waist to lead him to the dance floor.

Harry’s heart starts beating hard when Louis wraps his arms around his neck as they dance to _I Heard it Through the Grapevine._ He can’t believe he’s actually dancing with a boy. A very good-looking boy, too.

As the song ends Louis pulls Harry close, his mouth almost touching Harry’s ear, and whispers, “Are you gay, Harry?” causing Harry to erupt in shivers. Louis chuckles lowly. “I’ll take that as a yes. Guess I’ll just have to take care of you now. Make sure nobody hurts you,” he whispers as he pulls Harry even closer and starting to sway as _My Cherie Amour_ starts to play.

The two boys just sway together to the music, looking into each other’s eyes.

As the songs ends Louis asks, “Do you want to get out of here?”

At this point Harry would go anywhere with the brown-haired boy so he nods his head and lets Louis lead him off the dance floor. They stop by Liam who has his arms around a stunning curly-haired girl, to let him know that they are leaving.

Liam makes a quick introduction to Harry. “Harry, this is my wife, Leigh Anne and these two beauties are Perrie and Jade.” He points to two girls curled up together in a seat at the table. “Ladies, this is Harry.”

A quick round of pleasantries later and Louis is once again pulling Harry toward the exit. He flicks a quick wave at Zayn, still dancing in his cage, before they are out on the dark street.

“Let’s go get ice cream, Harry, and we can talk,” Louis says as they walk down the sidewalk.

They sit together in an old diner with dishes of vanilla ice cream and make small talk for a while. Harry tells Louis how he came to be in New York and Louis tells him his story as well.

“I’m from northern Pennsylvania. My dad is a pastor and I stayed home from church one Sunday and my friend, Stan came over. We were messing around, just to experiment and see what it would be like to kiss a boy. Well, my mom came home early to check on me and saw us. She threw me out right then. I haven’t seen my family since. I don’t know if they even know what happened.

So, I’ve been here for three years now, living with Zayn and Niall. You’ll meet Niall later I’m sure.”

They finish their ice cream and step out into the warm night. Louis decides to walk Harry home because he thinks it’s too dangerous for him to be walking alone.

As they round the corner they bump into Niall. Louis gives him a hug, slapping him on the back. “You reek, man! Where have you been?” he asks.

Niall looks down at the ground. “The trucks,” he says.

“What trucks?” Harry asks.

Louis butts in, “No, Harry, you don’t need to know about the trucks. Niall, you shouldn’t be going there. You’re going to get arrested or something.”

“What trucks?” Harry asks again.

“Hi, I’m Niall,” Niall says as he stretches out his hand to Harry. “I’ll tell you about the trucks,” he says with a sour look toward Louis. “They’re fun.”

“Niall, noooo,” Louis says as he tries to pull Harry away.

“No, Louis. He’ll find out soon enough being gay. You are gay right?” he asks Harry. Harry nods so Niall continues. “The trucks are empty semi trailers that are parked down by the river. During the day they’re used to transport meat but at night they’re parked down there empty. We all use them for meet-ups. They stink to high heaven but they’re a great place to go if you want to get laid. The cops barely show up.”

Harry is equal parts disgusted and intrigued. The trucks sound so gross and there is a real danger of getting arrested. He’d never get to go back home if he had a record. _But_ it could be really nice to have some sort of sex with a real live man.

“Go home, Niall,” Louis says. “I’m going to walk Harry back to his hotel. I’ll see you at home later.”

Louis starts walking but Harry is too busy thinking about the trucks to pay attention. Louis puts one hand on his shoulder and one hand under his chin. “Harry, look at me. Please tell me you aren’t actually thinking about going to the trucks? The men there, Harry, some of them are not so nice. It wouldn’t be a good first time for you. Trust me when I tell you to wait for it to be special. You’d regret it.”

“Was your first time special?” Harry asks him.

“No, it wasn’t. It was awful. I was just so excited to finally be free in my sexuality that I jumped at the first change I got to have sex with a man. He wasn’t very nice to me and he hurt me. I don’t want that for you.”

“Okay,” Harry says quietly as he rubs his cheek on Louis’ hand. “I won’t go to the trucks. I’ll wait for someone who is nice.” _Louis’ nice,_ Harry thinks to himself. _I wonder if he-_

Harry’s thoughts are cut off as he hears footsteps running toward them. They can hear men yelling “Faggot!” and “Fucking fairies!” as the footsteps get closer.

Louis grabs Harry’s hand. “Run!” he cries as he starts to pull him down the street.

They rush to Harry’s hotel and throw themselves in the elevator. When they get to Harry’s room Louis has to take the key and open the door because Harry is shaking too much to do it.

As soon as the door is closed Louis pulls Harry into a bone-crushing hug. “Are you okay?” he asks him.

Harry starts sobbing. It’s as if the floodgates are unleashed. He can’t answer Louis. He just holds on as tight as he can and cries and cries. Louis patiently holds him through it whispering words of encouragement and stroking his hair.

After quite a while Harry’s sobs subside. Louis grabs a tissue to clean up Harry’s face while Harry hiccups.

“I’m so sorry that you had to go through that, Harry. Unfortunately, there are a lot of assholes like that out there. It’s why we have to be so careful. I don’t care if I get arrested because being gay shouldn’t be a crime but I really, really don’t want to get physically hurt or even killed for being gay. I know we’ve only known each other for a few hours but I already care about you so much and I don’t ever want to see you get hurt,” Louis says as he strokes Harry’s curls back off of his forehead. “I can’t promise you that it will ever get easier but I can promise you that you’ll get stronger.”

Harry interrupts him by smashing his lips against Louis’. Louis pulls back a little, unsure if he should kiss him back. Harry had just been through a traumatic event and Louis didn’t want Harry to have his first gay kiss to be like this. “Harry, we shouldn’t. The timing is just off. I don’t want you to kiss me because you feel grateful because I was there for you or because you’re pissed off because of the homophobes.”

“No, Louis. I wanted to kiss you the moment I saw you. You are the prettiest boy I’ve ever seen. I don’t care about those jerks and of course I’m grateful to you for being there for me but that’s not why I want to kiss you. You’re just amazing. Please, can I kiss you now? I don’t think I can wait.”

Louis smiles at Harry and slightly nods his head in assent. This time when their lips meet it’s much gentler. They take their times exploring each other’s mouths with their lips and tongues. It’s an unhurried kiss that holds no promise of leading anywhere sexual but it is still shockingly intimate.

Louis leaves Harry with a lingering kiss on the mouth and a promise to meet up the next day.

The next night finds Harry and Louis back at the Stonewall Inn. Everyone in their group, Niall, Zayn, Liam, Leigh Anne, Perrie, and Jade are dancing and having fun. They are all admittedly drinking too much in the back room bar. Harry and Louis are inseparable, holding each other close with lots of kissing. Their dancing gets dirtier and dirtier until they decide to go back to Harry’s hotel.

Neither one of them know what to expect. Louis is still hesitant to make things sexual right away because he doesn’t want to hurt Harry. Harry is hopeful that he’ll get to have some sort of sexual relations with Louis. Of course he’s also a little scared. Not because he’ll think Louis will hurt him but because Louis obviously has experience and Harry has virtually none at all.

They enter the room and Harry immediately crowds into Louis’ space and kisses him hard. Louis gasps into the kiss and gives back as good he’s getting. The kiss gets heated very quickly and soon Harry starts backing Louis up toward the bed. Louis goes without complaint but hesitates when Harry tries to strip him of his shirt.

“Harry, I’m not sure you’re ready. We should probably stop,” Louis whines.

“Louis, I’m so ready for this. I feel like I’ve been waiting my whole life,” Harry replies.

Louis groans and pulls off his own shirt before spinning Harry around and gently pushing him down onto the bed. “We can do some things but we’re not having sex. I want you to promise me you’ll wait for it to be super special.”

Nice morning after, Louis borrows clothes from Harry, confronted when they are leaving the room, hotel manager kicks them out, calls them slurs, decide to go to the apartment, Liam says Harry can stay.

Harry wakes up the next morning with a smile on his face. Granted, they didn’t get farther than mutual hand jobs but it was the first time Harry had ever been intimate with another man. He was glad it was Louis. He was amazing and Harry could already feel himself falling for him.

Louis wakes up next to Harry and gives him a sleepy smile. “Morning, Harry,” he says in his raspy morning voice.

Harry leans down and kisses him softly on the lips and whispers, “Good morning. Thank you for last night. Do you want to go get breakfast?”

Mmm. I don’t have any clothes with me.”

“You can borrow some of mine.”

“Okay. Let’s go.”

They get up and get ready to go. As they are exiting the elevator, the hotel manger comes charging over to them. “You need to pack your shit and get out of my hotel!” he yells. “I won’t have any fucking queers here!”

Harry is enraged. “I’d love to, asshole. I wouldn’t stay in this hotel another night if _you_ paid _me,_ you fucking homophobe!”

The boys go back to the room so Harry can pack his things. “After breakfast I’ll go find another place to stay. What an asshole!”

“Nonsense,” Louis says. You’ll stay with us.

“Are you sure Zayn and Niall won’t mind?”

“They won’t care. It’d actually be good to have another person to pitch in with rent. We can barely afford it as it is.”

“Sounds like a plan then. I can pay a couple months in advance.”

“We’ll talk about it later, babe. You said you’d feed me,” Louis says with a smile. “Let’s go eat!”

They have a quick breakfast and use the rest of the day getting Harry settled into the apartment that all now share. If Harry experienced giving and receiving his first blow job, his new roommates didn’t have to know.

Later that night finds them back at the Stonewall Inn. The very air in the building feels different. The bar had been raided in the past and nothing ever came of it so they were all completely floored when the back room bar light suddenly turns on, signaling the arrival of police. It was the patrons’ cue to immediately separate.

They are all lined up and checked then Harry, Louis, Niall, and Liam are let go. The police try to detain Leigh Anne but she is able to show that she is wearing at least three items of women’s clothing, as per the law. Perrie and Jade are let go as well after a time.

The group is waiting out in front of the bar for Zayn when they see him being loaded into a paddy wagon with the doorman. A group of women exit the bar with some police officers. One of them is in obvious pain from the rough treatment. When she complains that her handcuffs are too tight, the office roughly throws her into the back of the squad car all the while calling her a dirty dyke.

The woman is spitting angry and calls on the crowd to do something, anything. All of a sudden a penny flies through the air toward the cop. Soon, al that could be seen and heard is yelling from the crowd and pennies flying toward the police.

Violence soon escalates. When people run out of pennies, they throw bottles. When people run out of bottles, they throw bricks. Somehow the police escape the onslaught and hide in the bar waiting for reinforcements to arrive.

The standoff lasts for hours. As the sun rises, they head home. Harry is angry but Louis is ecstatic. Harry is angry because he had no idea things were this bad. He didn’t know that people, _his people,_ his fellow gays, were treated so horribly. Louis is just glad that they had finally stood up for themselves.

Zayn arrives home around midday with horror stories of what they had put him through down at the station. Even with all of that he went through he is still determined to go to work that night. Harry, Louis, Niall, and Zayn decide to go with him to make sure he stays safe.

When they get to the bar, it is open for business but hundreds of people are outside. Tensions are high and the anger runs deep. No one knows who set the first fire but they are all in the middle of another riot.

A few hours later they fall into bed exhausted. It is a great feeling to be a part of something so big but they both realize that the violence against them won’t stop. The police will always be after them and there are no true safe spaces.

They discuss what they want to do. Louis realizes that his life is really going nowhere in New York and Harry is starting to realize that he can never go back to his family. Both of them realize that they are falling in love and that they might need a fresh start to begin their lives together. They decide to try to make a new start out in San Francisco, California. They’ve heard that it is a more progressive and accepting place for gays to live.

They tell their friends of their plans and they all understand. Niall asks them to stay for a parade that has been organized to keep up the momentum of the good the riots did for the community. They agree to march with their friends as a last hurrah before they leave together.

Twenty years later finds Harry and Louis still together (not married because it’s still illegal), happily living together in San Francisco. The times have changed a lot. They have both gone to school and got degrees in social work. They have a huge house right on the outskirts of downtown where they take care of homeless and troubled gay youth that make their way to them.


End file.
